Blue

by

Joni Mitchell

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If reading all the 5 star reviews here hasn't swayed you already, I'll say it again- buy this album. After receiving it as a gift from my MOM, (I'm in high school...) I wasn't sure how it could be any good. I listened to it a few times before I latched on to it, really. The warbling melodies of joni and her stark instrumentation makes for a difficult listen at first. But when you have gotten used to joni and her style, every track on the cd becomes worn in like a sumptous slipper. The absolute beauty of the music is worlds apart from what you hear on the radio or MTV. And it's a gateway to much of the other fantastic work joni has done- I've bought about 5 other joni cd's since last christmas when I got Blue. The point is- give it a chance. Whenever I try to tell my friends to listen to joni, I get teased. "Joni Mitchell? Folky outdated guitar player?" But if you take my advice and LISTEN to this record, you will be rewarded with it's richness. It has become an integral addition to my life, not just my cd rack.

I was in my 20s when this recording first came out, and I loved it. It spoke directly to my heart. Now it has been released in a splendid-sounding gold version by DCC; however, when I listened to it at 50, Blue struck me as almost laughably self-absorbed, and although I still enjoy some of the striking melodies, this is not a CD to which I will return very often. Listeners would have to be either young and self-absorbed or old and nostalgia-riddled to really savor this disk; to you folks, I recommend this excellent DCC remastering with enthusiasm.

Postcript: Now that I am 62, maybe I would give it 3.5 stars. Please note that I did not call the album almost laughable, I said that some of the lyrics struck me as almost laughable. It is a very striking album, and I can understand why people are so passionate about it. I just find it strange -- and a bit sad, actually -- that if you give something three stars on Amazon, people seem to think you are attacking them personally. (That remark is not based on just this review.) My original closing sentence was harshly worded, I admit, so let's try this one instead: If you really are a devoted fan of Joni Mitchell, I recommend this excellent DCC remastering with enthusiasm (but personally, I would not pay 67 bucks for it -- which Amazon indicates is the current going price as of May 2012).